INDONESIAN CUISINE

• Indonesia in Brief
• Largest archipelago in the world.
• The country consists of 17,508 islands that
stretch out along the equator for over 3,200
miles.
 National motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika,
• which means “Unity in Diversity.” Indonesia is
the
• Fourth most populous country in the world.
Fossil evidence suggest
• Homoerectus, commonly known as “Java
Man,”inhabited the island nation two million
years ago
 Indonesian cuisine
• Rich in spices.
• The indigenous cooking techniques and ingredients
• have benefited from trade and influences originating
• in places as far away as India, China, the Middle East,
and Europe.
• Rice is a staple food
• Rice is also served as ketupat (rice steamed
in woven packets of coconut leaves), brem (rice wine),
and nasi goreng (fried rice
• In the eastern part of Indonesia, however, corn, sago,
cassava, and sweet potatoes are more common.
Sago
• is a powdery starch made from processed pith, the
• soft and spongy cells found inside the trunk of the
Sago Palm, Metroxylon sago.
• Is usually cooked
• as pancake and eaten with fish and vegetable side
dishes.
• Sambal is often cooked with fish, vegetables, and
meat. Some popular Indonesian sambal include sambal
bajak, sambal balado, sambal belacan, and sambal
tomat.
• Fruit is also an important part of the Indonesian diet.
• Fruit is usually served fresh, made into dessert, jelly,
or rujak (fruits mixed with savory sauce). Tropical fruits
such as banana, papaya, coconut, pineapple, jackfruit,
salak, and others are widely available throughout the
islands.
 Some popular dishes:

• • Ayam Taliwang: Originally from Nusa Tenggara,

• ayam taliwang is chicken cooked in various spicy
• herbs and seasoning.
• • Gado-gado: Vegetable salad served with peanut
• sauce dressing.
• • Gudeg: Originally from Yogyakarta, gudeg is
• diced raw young jackfruit cooked in a traditional
• Javanese unique way.
• • Nasi Padang: Originally from Padang, North
• Sumatra, nasi padang is steam rice served various
• kind of light curry and a heavy taste of chili.
• • Opor Ayam (Chicken in Indonesian White
Curry):
• Chicken cooked in coconut milk. It is traditionally
• consumed with Ketupat during the Idul Fitri
• celebration in most regions of Indonesia.
• • Rendang: Chunks of beef stewed in coconut
• milk and chili gravy.
• • Betutu: Traditional Balinese steamed or roasted
• chicken or duck stuffed with spices and cooked in
• banana leaf wrapping.
Spices such as pala (nutmeg/mace), cengkeh (clove), and laos (galangal)
Popular Indonesian spices
are native to Indonesia. It is likely that lada hitam (black pepper), kunyit
(turmeric), sereh (lemongrass), bawang merah (shallot), kayu manis (
cinnamon), kemiri (candlenut), ketumbar (coriander), and asem jawa (
tamarind) were introduced from India, while jahe (ginger), daun
bawang (leek) and bawang putih (garlic) were introduced from China.
 Indonesian Famous Recipes
Example of Indonesian Sundanese meal;
roasted fish, nasi timbel (rice wrapped in
banana leaf), fried chicken, sambal, fried
tempe and tofu, and sayur asem; the bowl of
water with lime is kobokan.
Satay
Buras, rice cooked in coconut milk, served with spicy coconut
powder, from Makassar.
                                                         

Using water buffalo to plough rice fields in Java; Rice is a staple for all classes
in contemporary; Indonesia is the world's third largest paddy rice producer and
its cultivation has transformed much of Indonesia’s landscape.
                                                         

Bumbu kacang or peanut sauce represents a

sophisticated, earthy seasoning rather than a
sweet, gloppy sauce.
Delicate balance of savoury, sweet, sour, and spicy
flavours, acquired from various ingredients, such
as fried peanuts, gula jawa (coconut sugar),
garlic, shallots, ginger, tamarind, lemon juice,
lemongrass, salt, chilli, peppercorns,
sweet soy sauce, ground together
and mixed with water to form the right
consistency
 RIJSTAFEL
• The classic style rijstafel involved serving of up to 40 different dishes by
40 male waiters, bare foot but dressed in formal white uniforms with
blangkon (traditional Javanese caps) on their heads and batik cloth
around their waists.
• In contemporary Indonesian cuisine, it has been adapted into a
western style buffet. It employs a long table with a wide range of
dishes, both savory and sweet, served on it. It can usually be found in
wedding ceremonies or any other festivities. The layout for an
Indonesian wedding ceremony buffet is usually: plates, eating utensils
(spoon and fork), and paper napkins placed on one end, followed by
rice (plain or fried), a series of Indonesian (and sometimes
international) dishes, sambal and krupuk (shrimp crackers), and ending
with glasses of water on the other end of the table.
Tumpeng, the cone shaped rice surrounded by assorted
Indonesian dishes.
 Beverages
Indonesian households commonly serve teh manis (sweet
tea) or kopi tubruk (coffee mixed with sugar and hot water

 
and poured straight in the glass without separating coffee

residue) to guests                                                  

  
 

Avocado shake (jus alpokat) with chocolate syrup

• Fruit juices (jus) are very popular. Varieties
include orange (jus jeruk), guava (jus jambu),
mango (jus mangga), soursop (just sirsak) and
avocado (jus alpokat), the last of these being
commonly served with condensed milk and
chocolate syrup as a dessert-like treat.
 FRUITS
• Mangosteen, rambutan, jackfruit, durian,
and banana.
• Banana and Coconut are particularly
important, not only to Indonesian cuisine,
but also in other uses, such as timber,
bedding, roofing, oil, plates and packaging,
etc